Tom Gonzales - Commerce One Founder Sues East Bay Community Foundation

(Story reposted at the request of our own Robin Belker..)

Tom Gonzales, the co-founder of Commerce One, has filed a lawsuit to against East Bay Community Foundation of Oakland and to regain control of his son's charitable bequest in order to ensure that the tens of millions of dollars are spent as the younger Tom Gonzales wished. In this, the image of the East Bay Community Foundation has been damaged.

The East Bay Community Foundation was originally the receiver of a bequest of $23 million from the Gonzales Foundation,and it was to be controlled by EBCF. But distribution of the money has been on hold until various tax claims involving the Gonzales estate are resolved.

In a kind of fit, EBCF elected to sue the family just because EBCF has not received all of the money due to the tax matter. I guess they forgot who it belonged to. But in doing this, the reputation of the East Bay Community Foundation has been damaged because it seems like an awardee can't trust the East Bay Community Foundation to simply hang on and be a team player.

As for the elder Gonzales, he's protecting a fortune that was generated by the genius of his late son, who was the programming brains behind Commerce One in its heyday.

Blackberry and iPhones and The 24-Hour Worker

Shel Holzt writes about the developing 24-hour work cycle and he seems to think it's a good thing. I'm not certain of that, but before I take him to task, I will report that I've learned that such an addiction to electronic communications devices is not a good health practice. In fact, it's called just the term I used "an addiction."

The DailyMail reports

Blackberry email devices can be so addictive that owners may need to be weaned off them with treatment similar to that given to drug users, experts warned today.

Wow. The DailyMail Online goes on to explain that overuse can be damaging to mental health. But interestingly it doesn't say why. Let's speculate. Perhaps overuse causes severe memory loss, because without checking your iPhone -- I have an i Phone -- you realized you actually don't remember anything. You've given up remembering because you check your iPhone all the damn time.

Cal Tree Sitters - Save The Oaks v. UC and The UC Police - Video Documentary

For me, covering what turned out to be this three-part video documentary started with a call from a friend and fellow Cal Alum who said that I should get "down there" with my camera because there was no video on what was happening. So, fresh from a meeting, and with two hours to spare, I went over to the Grove in front of Cal Memorial Stadium, the site of the clash between the Cal Tree Sitters and the UC Administration and Police.

The overall story is that we -- Cal -- needs an upgraded stadium facility and the plans for this have been in the works for almost ten years. With the success of Cal Coach Jeff Tedford, it became easier to raise money toward this objective. As part of the effort , the University of California was able to secure $500 million from British Petroleum, most of which would go to the creation of a new research institute, and the rest toward what will be an athletic facility upgrade -- a new training center where the Grove is.

This has caused a round of protests led by a group called "Save The Oaks" and Running Wolf, who ran for Mayor of Berkeley and a man who calls himself "Air."

This video -- which I will elaborate on soon -- is of three days: Tuesday June 17th, Wednesday June 18th, and Thursday June 19th. On Wednesday, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Barbara Miller issued a rulling that did not halt construction but did place a rejection on the University's current approach using the Grove. The Grove is near a faultline and the plan was just that the University could not build given its current approach. The Tree Sitters saw this as a victory.

On Thursday, the third video shows horror. Protesters stopping traffic and preventing parents from getting home to their kids and families. And one woman a mother with her kid and reportedly a California Deputy Attorney General, was arrested for nothing other than just standing trying to get the police to clear traffic so she could get her kid from soccer practice.

In this, both protester and police are to blame for a terrible set of events. You be the judge. I think Cal could have avoided this with better planning.

More later.